


The 11/Jack WW2 AU that no one asked for, but is unfinished anyway

by akingnotaprincess



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Alternate Universe - 1940s, Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - World War II, Angst, Feelings Realization, First Kiss, Friendship, Getting Together, Historical Inaccuracy, Hospitals, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M, Making Out, Period-Typical Homophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-02
Updated: 2012-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:27:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23327728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/akingnotaprincess/pseuds/akingnotaprincess
Summary: Jack is a Captain in the RAF and was injured in battle. He's been spending his time in a War Hospital under the care of his unorthodox Doctor.
Relationships: Eleventh Doctor/Jack Harkness
Kudos: 2





	1. In the Mood

Jack stares up at the ceiling, at the brightly colored construction paper flowers. Pink. Purple. Orange.  
  
The Doctor thinks that colors and relaxing images of flowers, butterflies, and sleeping kittens will improve their treatment. Jack doesn't have a medical degree (not that he's sure the Doctor has one, either) but he hasn't found these fake flowers… relaxing.  
  
"How are we doing today, Harkness?"  
  
Jack glances toward the door; he hadn't noticed that the Doctor had come in. Maybe he hadn't knocked on the door like everyone else? It did seem like him.  
  
The Doctor is wearing that bow tie again. And his hair… it's almost futuristic. The Doctor is so young and has a boyish face. It seems like he must have recently graduated from medical school… or high school.  
  
He watches as the Doctor pulls a stool next to his bed and sits. He doesn't say anything to Jack as he flips through some papers, probably his medical files. Finally the Doctor looks up, gesturing at the ceiling with the papers. "So how to you like the flowers?"  
  
"They're horrid," he replies dully.  
  
The Doctor gives him a childish pout. "I spent a lot of time on those. Made them myself." There was definitely pride in his voice.  
  
Jack looks up at the flowers again. They all have jagged edges, and buttons for centers. He had thought they were made by a child. "They're _still_ horrid."  
  
"Well aren't you a little monster today?" The Doctor gives him a cheeky smile as he looks over the papers again and takes out a pen from inside his tweed jacket. "Any side effects from the medication?"  
  
Jack rolls his eyes. "No."  
  
"Any dizziness? Nausea? Headaches?"  
  
"Didn't I already tell you I had no side effects, Doc?" Jack bites back.  
  
"Ah, we've started on the 'Doc'…" The Doctor smiles at him. "Did you do your exercises with Jones?"  
  
Jack smiles cheekily. Nurse Martha Jones was a young woman with big aspirations. She came in once a day to work on his physical rehab. Jones was quite beautiful and he didn't mind telling her so. "Yeah."  
  
"I trust you didn't harass my staff?" the Doctor asks, his eyebrow raised.  
  
"Don't you trust me, Doc?"  
  
The Doctor doesn't answer but keeps scribbling in the files.  
  
Jack takes the time to gaze at the Doctor. He is an attractive man. He has such charisma and is so unorthodox. Jack doesn't feel bad that he has feelings for the Doctor even though he has a wife back home. He was only married to Estelle on paper. She had never visited him while he was in hospital and his suspicions were confirmed when a letter from his mother arrived informing him that Estelle was four months pregnant. The baby couldn't be his, of course, since he had been gone for almost a year. Whenever he gets back home… _if_ he gets back home, he is going to file for divorce immediately. No one knows that Jack likes men as well as women. And he isn't about to go shouting it from the rooftops, since he could go to jail if he was caught.  
  
Jack sighs. He can't stand the silence between them anymore. The sound of that damn pen on paper is getting on his nerves. "When can I go back in the field, Doc?"  
  
The Doctor glances up from the stack of papers. "I dunno. A month? Maybe two."  
  
Jack grimaces. "What the hell, Doc? Two months? My men need me!"  
  
The Doctor finally stops writing, lays the papers on his lap and crosses his legs. "You know I've never seen anyone so eager to go back to war, Captain." He lets out a sigh. "Wasn't it Sherman who said 'War is hell'? Do you disagree with him?"  
  
He growls. "Why two months? I've seen other men here only a week."  
  
"You're lucky you're alive, Harkness. How you walked away from that crash with just a torn ligament in your right knee…" The Doctor shakes his head. "And you want to go back to hell?" He leans in; Jack can feel the Doctor's breath. "Why?"  
  
"Because it makes me feel alive." And that is the truth. It was probably the most honest thing he had told the Doctor. But, Jack didn't want to be the underdog in this conversation."Why are you here, Doc? Get a thrill out of helping weak men?"  
  
"No." The Doctor leans in closer, their lips almost touching. "Just you."  
  
They linger there; just for a moment, but to Jack it feels like an eternity. His eyes shift from the Doctor's pink lips to his light colored eyes. Those lips look so kissable and his eyes… his eyes seem too old for a man so boyish in appearance.  
  
"Well, I better be off on the rest of my rounds." The Doctor turns away, picking up his papers. "Let me put the radio on for you." In two strides he crosses the room and tunes the Marconi Radio to a suitable station; an older Glenn Miller song comes on, 'In The Mood'. "There." The Doctor gives him a quick smile and wave, then leaves as mysterious as he had come.  
  
Jack closes his eyes and lets his mind wander with the music. Now _this_ was relaxing.


	2. Toy Soldier

As he wakes up, he wonders why the hell he's looking up at paper flowers and not at his Ann Miller pin-up. Jack is confused. Why he can't hear his mean grumbling about getting up so early… why he can't hear any bombs?  
  
Then it all comes back to him. The important mission over Berlin… the dog fight… he was clearly outnumbered… his engines were blasted and he remembered falling… just falling toward the earth.  
  
Jack doesn't bother to turn his head as he hears a light rapping at his door. He manages to croak out a weak 'come in'. He doesn't really care who it is. It's just one of the nurses, it's not the Doctor.  
  
"Hello, Captain Harkness," Williams says. He's such an awkward boy. Williams trips on his way to the bed and falls flat on his face. "Sorry about that. No need to get up and help." He staggers up and brushes himself off.  
  
Jack hasn't moved an inch. "How's that wife of yours, Williams?" he asks casually to lighten the mood. The air is much too stuffy in here.  
  
"Fiancée, actually." The nurse smiles. "And call me Rory." He looks at the chart at the foot of Jack's bed. "You have a choice of either pancakes or French toast for breakfast. Which would you rather?"  
  
Jack just blinks.  
  
"Right… I'll put down French toast then. How would you like your eggs?" Rory asks hopeful.  
  
Jack blinks _twice_.  
  
"I'll just put sunny side up… Should I even ask what kind of meat you'd like?"  
  
Jack yawns.  
  
" _Right_ , right. I'll let it be a surprise then. I'll just let all your meals be surprises…" Rory grimaces as he scribbles something down on the chart. "Do you need to go to the bathroom, Captain Harkness?"  
  
Jack sticks out his tongue.  
  
Rory stomps his foot like a child. "Now see here, Captain Harkness! You've been here for two weeks. We've had conversations; I _know_ you can talk! You just did! You asked me about Amelia. Why are you suddenly refusing to speak now?"  
  
"Cause you never answered my question." Jack grins.  
  
Rory exhales and shakes his head in complete disbelief. "She's _fine_ , Captain. Now will you corporate?"  
  
"With pleasure." Jack folds his arms across his chest in victory.  
  


\---

  
  
He remembers. It's those idiotic construction paper flowers that make him remember.  
  
They were playing in a meadow with colorful wild flowers. They were out of breath and laid down in the grass. A pink flower tickled his cheek and he picked it and gave it to his brother. His brother hugged him with all his might, his freckled face just inches from his own, and asked Jack if they'd be together forever. He'd promised Gray with a laugh.  
  
Stupid memories. Stupid broken promises. It seemed to be the story of his life.  
  


\---

  
  
"You just _love_ to make my employees lives a living hell, don't you, Harkness?"  
  
Jack turns his head to see that the Doctor has strolled into his room.  
  
"Oh, and here's your mail." The Doctor tosses the envelopes onto Jack's lap. "Noble refuses to deliver your mail until further notice. Why is that?"  
  
"I didn't want to talk to her. She got pissed off."  
  
"Yeah, well, you might not talk to her _but_ Johnson, down the hall, covered her in sick last week. O'Neil, with the glass eye, asks her out on a date nearly every day. I doubt that _you_ not speaking to her would set her off. Now what happened?" The Doctor takes his usual seat by the bed.  
  
"She tried to hug me." He tries to make it not sound as stupid as it is.  
  
"You scared off my finest secretary because she tried you _hug_ you?" The Doctor wags at finger in his face as though he's a rotten child. "Your mother never did teach you manners, did she? You know Noble likes to hug all of my patients. Likes to think she's touching a hero. You should be proud." Jack watches as the Doctor leans over and examines his untouched lunch, still on its plastic tray. "Why haven't you eaten?"  
  
"Fish and custard?" Jack exclaims. "It's disgust—" His mouth drops to the floor as he witnesses the Doctor dip one of the fish fingers into the small bowl of yellow custard and greedily eat and suck the food. It was the most revolting thing Jack had ever witnessed.  
  
"Besides…" the Doctor smacks his lips. "Doing Noble's job, I came to tell you something."  
  
Jack waits. But the Doctor doesn't answer. He just eats and sucks at the custard on the end of each fish finger. It seems like the Doctor has forgotten all about this news he was going to tell Jack, more intent on eating Jack's uneaten lunch. It would have been alluring to watch the Doctor lick and suck at another food… _any_ other food… than fish fingers and custard.  
  
"What the hell is wrong with you?"  
  
The Doctor looks up at him, eyes wide and innocent, a bit of custard dripping from his mouth. "What's wrong with _me_? What's wrong with me? What do you mean what's wrong with me? I'm perfectly…" He wipes away the custard with his tongue. "Cool. Ah!" He stands up, knocking over the wooden stool he was sitting on. "I was going to tell you something, wasn't I?" The Doctor gives him a wide grin. "I've decided that you're doing so well in your physical therapy that we're moving you on to the next stage." The Doctor frowns, unpleased at Jack's lack of reaction. "What's wrong? Are you Mr. Grumpy Gills today?"  
  
Jack sighs. He's not sure if he should admit what has been on his mind but he does anyway."You know so much about me… yet I know nothing about you."  
  
The Doctor lifts an eyebrow. "And…?"  
  
"It bothers me. A lot."  
  
The Doctor sits down on the stool again and finally begins to scribble in Jack's medical files. "I'm a very private person," he says rather defensively. "But what would you like to know?"  
  
Jack blurts out, "Are you married?" He instantly regrets this question. He knows whatever the answer it will be like a kick to his groin. If the answer is yes, than the Doctor definitely would not be interested in men. If the answer is no… what are the chances that the Doctor would be homosexual? Not likely.  
  
The Doctor looks at him intensely, his eyes burning into Jack's. His face, Jack notes, is sad. "Yes," the Doctor finally answers, barely audible.  
  
Jack feels his hear sink but trudges on. "What's her name?"  
  
There's another pause. "River."  
  
Jack is astonished. In his experience, whenever you ask a man what his wife's name is, a man in love will never shut up about her. He'll tell you about her hair color, about her beautiful eyes, he might even tell you her favorite color and hobbies. Jack knew this because he had once loved Estelle, and he remembered that everyone wanted his lips sealed shut since he constantly talked about how amazing she was. Hell, get Rory Williams in a conversation that isn't about your charts and he never shuts up about his fiancée. But the Doctor? This is not a man in love.  
  
"What's wrong with her?" Jack sits up in bed, a little more interested in this conversation than before.  
  
"What do you mean? She's my wife."  
  
"You don't love her," Jack replies simply.  
  
The Doctor furrows his brow. "And what about _your_ wife, Harkness? Do you love her?"  
  
"No, I don't."  
  
They stare at each other's eyes with intense passion. The air is thick and they both know something is about to happen and their lives will change forever.  
  
The Doctor lunges forward, the stool crashing to the floor. His hands cup Jack's face and Jack does the same, his quick movement causing his unread mail to go spilling to the floor. They take in each other's scents for only a moment before Jack makes the first move, kissing the Doctor hard. This is heaven, he thinks as he hears the Doctor moan into his lips. Jack opens his mouth and their tongues collide, dancing together in a duet. The Doctor clutches Jack closer to his body. Jack wiggles his hand free and cups the Doctor's crotch, beginning to massage it.  
  
Suddenly, the Doctor breaks away from the heated kiss. "I can't do this!" the Doctor shouts. He stumbles backward, hitting the abandoned stool. "I'm sorry… so sorry… Jack…" He runs out of the room.  
  
Jack feels like he's just been scammed. He'd had the hottest kiss of his life with the man of his dreams... Oh God… Jack realizes as a tear slips down his cheek, he finally called him by his first name. Jack buries his face in his hands and cries; he can still feel the Doctor's lips on his own. This wasn't how it was supposed to be.


	3. Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy

"Just one more step, Captain… Good! Now take another…"  
  
Jack raises his eyebrow at Martha Jones. She's been saying _'just take one more step'_ for the past twenty minutes. But he supposes if taking _just one more step_ will get him back in combat quicker than _just one more step_ he will take.  
  
"You've worked hard today, Captain." She gives him her warm smile as she wraps her arm around his shoulder.  
  
Jack says nothing but lets her lead him back to his bed and willingly cooperates as she tucks him back in.  
  
"Is something wrong, Captain?" she asks. Jack wants to cringe. Her voice is seeping with worry and sincerity. "You're really quiet today. You haven't made a pass at me at all."  
  
He curses under his breath, the first audible word he's spoken all morning.  
  
"Aha!" Martha points to him. "There's a sign of my Captain." She sits down beside him, on _his_ stool. "Jack." She touches his hand gingerly. "I'm worried about you. We've become great friends over the past few weeks, haven't we?" Her voice is a bit shaky, Jack notices. "Can't you tell me what's wrong?"  
  
He observes her for a moment or two. Martha looks worried for his sake. And she is right, of course. He does consider her a friend. She's the only person here that he's told about Estelle's betrayal. He even told her about Gray. And he hasn't talked about Gray in a long, long time. In turn, she told him about her broken engagement with a doctor named Tom. He was a good man, she had said, but he was a field medic in Africa and they hardly corresponded. And during her time here, she had fallen for a soldier who was here at the hospital named Mickey Smith and they now intended to marry.  
  
"Do you…" Jack fumbles with the words. "Do you know much about the Doctor's private life?"  
  
Martha looks taken aback as though she's expecting something else. "The Doctor? He likes to keep to himself mostly."  
  
Jack is stunned to see that his friend is actually blushing. "You've got a crush, haven't you?"  
  
"And what about you, Jack?" She smirks wickedly. "I've seen the way you look at him. Like you've been stranded in the desert for days and he's a glass of water."  
  
Jack turns his head away from Martha, he doesn't want _her_ to see _his_ blush.  
  
"Yes!" Martha punches the air. "I _knew_ I was right!" She moves the stool closer to the bed and leans in toward Jack. "Does he know yet?"  
  
"Sort of," Jack admits.  
  
"Well…" Martha is frantic. "Tell me what happened!"  
  
"Shush now," he tells her with a stern look. "We just kissed."  
  
He watches with wide eyes as Martha tries and fails to suppress a squeal. "What was it like?"  
  
Jack smiles now, letting his guard down. He closes his eyes and remembers. "It was… heaven." He looks at Martha, his expression deadly serious. "Except that he had just eaten my lunch."  
  
Martha shakes her head. "So?"  
  
Jack leans back. "Well, since I was being a right prat Rory Williams decided to give me fish fingers and custard for lunch…"  
  
He does his best to suppress a laugh as Martha's mouth falls wide open and her eyes are looking skyward. "That man…" she finally utters. "That man is mad…"  
  
"Yes, but we already _knew_ that." He gives her a quick smile as Martha punches his arm lightly.  
  
Martha relaxes a bit. "Did you know, Rory told me something?" she adds. "Rory and Amelia had the Doctor over for dinner a few weeks ago. And he kept asking for different types of food. Like, I dunno, bacon, baked beans, fried tomato, and apples, anything you can think of. And he _hated_ it all? He's a _doctor_ that despises apples but eats fish fingers with custard?" Martha snorted. "What a mad man."  
  
"Bet our Pond had a fit." Rory's wife-- _fiancée'_ had popped by on a few occasions. She was bright, independent and very good-looking.  
  
Martha grins happily."So you and the Doctor, huh?"  
  
"Not quite…" Jack slumps down into the bed and tells her what happened.  
  
"No wonder he looks like the walking dead today," Martha says appreciatively.  
  
"What? You mean he's here today?" He hadn't seen the Doctor all morning; usually he would have stopped by at least twice to see how Jack was getting on. "I thought…" He frowns.  
  
Martha gives him a sympathetic smile. "Look, you asked me if I knew anything about his private life, yeah? Well, I don't really know much. But I know someone who does."  
  
"Really? Who?" He could feel his heart leaping into his throat. Whoever this mystery person is he needs to see them and _now_. Jack knew he was attracted to the Doctor. He is fairly certain that the attraction was mutual. But for some reason something is keeping the Doctor from going all the way and acting on his feelings. He needs to know. He needs to make this right, whatever _this_ is.  
  
"She's his best friend. If you want any information you got to get on her good side…"  
  
Jack is practically jumping on the bed with anticipation. " _Who_?"  
  
"Donna Noble." Martha grimaces. "Doesn't she hate you, though?  
  


\---

  
  
"Oi! What do you want? Martha said it was _urgent_."  
  
Jack's eyes snap open; he jolts straight up in his bed, a habit he's gotten from living in the military. He hadn't realized he'd fallen asleep. He looks around his room, dazed and sees _her_. Her fiery hair looks illuminated in the sunlight that is coming through the window. Her stance shows that she is in no mood for bullshit.  
  
" _Hello_ ," Donna Noble emphasizes. Her hands are on her round hips, a pile of papers, looks like mail, is stuck between her side and arm. She's tapping her foot and glaring at him like she is trying to kill him mentally. Jack briefly thinks that if Donna Noble was allowed to wear a uniform they'd have the Nazis beat in no time.  
  
He flashes her his most charming smile. He has to win her over. "Why, Ms. Noble, you look as beautiful as the first day of spring in full bloom."  
  
Donna barks out a laugh. "Oh, what's this? No spitting at me? Not throwing so much as a scrap of food at me now?"  
  
Jack tries his best to keep up his smile, but hearing someone finally say all that he has done to Donna… he knows she didn't deserve it. It's not like she really did anything wrong.  
  
She strides forward and tosses his mail on the floor at the foot of his bed. "There's your mail. The Doctor says he's not delivering it to you anymore. That _I_ have to do it." She huffed and threw up her arms. "Well, have at it then."  
  
When she turns to go Jack instinctively reaches out for her. "Donna, wait! I… I'm sorry!" he rushes.  
  
Donna halts in her tracks. There's a pause before she gradually turns her head around to see him. "Excuse me?"  
  
He fumbles with the buttons on his shirt. "I'm sorry, Donna. You… You're a good woman. I shouldn't have treated you like that. This place… it gets to you. After being able to fly… I know it's no excuse for the way I acted. But I'd like us to start over. If… that's possible?" Jack smiled, weakly his time as he holds out his hand. "Truce?"  
  
The seconds seem to tick by without any movement, not even a fly could be seen or heard buzzing around the room. Jack's hand began to quiver in mid-air but he waits… hoping for a response. He watches as Donna's brown eyes flick back and forth between his hand and his face as if trying to size him up.  
  
"It's a start." She grumbles as she shakes his hand.  
  
They don't say anything else but Donna does move his mail from the floor onto _his_ stool before she leaves.  
  


\---

  
  
The next visit from Donna Noble was surprisingly the very next day.  
  
Jack still has not seen the Doctor. Rory Williams seems to be his temporary replacement physician. He comes in the morning, making flimsy excuses for the Doctor, and takes down Jack's vitals, things that the Doctor should be doing. Jack tries his best not to take out his frustration on Rory. It's not like it's Rory's fault the Doctor won't see him anymore because they kissed. But that doesn't mean he's a saint.  
  
Rory is standing at the foot of his bed with Jack's chart. "So…" He hums. "Apparently I'm supposed to ask you what you think about the flowers…" The young nurse gestures with his pen to the ceiling above Jack's bed that is covered with colorful construction paper flowers. The Doctor had some notion that they would help his recovery.  
  
Jack wants to hold back a laugh. "You can tell him they're still horrid."  
  
"Ah…" Rory pursues his lips like he wants to say something but decides against it. Instead he scrawls something on the chart. "Um, yes. Any side effects to your medications?"  
  
"No." Jack sighs.  
  
"Nausea? Dizziness? Headaches?"  
  
"You can tell the Doctor I said that I am experiencing no side effects."  
  
Rory's nostrils flare slightly but he says nothing and writes on the chart. "Did you exercise with Nurse Jones yesterday?"  
  
"Did the Doctor tell you to ask me these questions in this order?"  
  
"Captain Harkness!" Rory yells, the chart crashing to the floor. "I am here as your physician. _Not_ the Doctor. Will you just shut up about him? These questions are mandatory for every patient in this hospital. You're not special, you know?"  
  
There was a light tap at his door and they both turn to see Donna Noble standing there holding a couple of brown paper bags in her left hand. "Oi, Williams." She cocked her head towards the hallway behind her. "Pond's here for you."  
  
Rory grunts and presses his uniform. "Right." He picks up the discarded chart. "I do have my other duties to do today, Captain. What would you like for breakfast this morning?"  
  
"Oh, that's all right," Donna says off-hand. "I've brought him breakfast."  
  
The nurse looks stunned. "Since when did you two get so chummy?"  
  
"Since yesterday." She smiles as she pushes past him into the room. "Go on now, you're wife is waiting."  
  
"Fiancée'!" they hear him yell back down the hall.  
  
Together, they light up the room with laughter. Donna pulls up a chair from a corner and sits beside him, handing him one of the paper bags.  
  
"You brought me breakfast?"  
  
"Yeah. Truce, right?" she says before she takes a bite out of an apple. "I hope you like it. Don't exactly know your tastes."  
  
He pulled an almost identical apple to hers out of his bag. "No, it's lovely."  
  
"Figured it's at least better than the crap they pass off for food here," she says trying to make conversation.  
  
"Yeah." He chuckles.  
  
The room fills with an awkward silence. This isn't exactly how getting friendly with Donna was supposed to go in his mind…  
  
"Can I turn on the radio?" Donna asks but is already halfway across the room before he can answer. She slides the dial back and forth before she finds a suitable station. It's a song by The Andrews Sisters, Jack quickly realizes. Many of the men in his squadron _loved_ them.  
  
"Oh, I _love_ this song," Donna yells over the music. She sings and dances along with the music on the way back to her chair.  
  
 _"He was a famous trumpet man from out Chicago way  
He had a boogie style that no one else could play  
He was the top man at his craft  
But then his number came up and he was gone with the draft  
He's in the army now, a-blowin' reveille  
He's the boogie woogie bugle boy of Company B."_  
  
Jack laughs to his surprise. It's a real laugh. He hasn't laughed like this since before the War.  
  
"What? Don't like my singing?" She grins from ear-to-ear.  
  
"Oh, you're singing is fantastic," he says in a teasing tone.  
  
She hits him playfully. "Sod off you!" After taking another bite in her apple she asks, "What did you do before all this?" She gestures at the air with her apple as if that justifies her meaning.  
  
Jack frowns slightly. "I helped my father with the family business."  
  
"What was that then?"  
  
"Bit boring really." He shrugs. "We sold _luxury_ items to the wealthy."  
  
"No way." Donna's mouth is hanging open. "You?" She edges closer to him. "What did you sell?"  
  
Jack is slightly embarrassed. "I dunno. Louis Vuitton luggage—"  
  
" _Louie Vuitton_?!" Donna screams. "You've actually sold, no, _touched_ a Louie Vuitton?"  
  
Jack isn't sure whether to laugh or cry at her reaction so he does neither. "Selling high priced items is nothing really. It was… boring. I mean, it's kind of a façade isn't it? You’re a middle class family pretending to be upper class. The only thing that would make you upper class is the items you sell. But the people whom you sell them to think you are… well… low. And the 'normal' people in your neighborhood don't trust you on a level because you don't wake up at the crack of dawn to go to a job that will cover you head to toe in soot and pay you shit. It's a never-ending cycle. It wasn't until I got in my first dog fight that I really felt… _alive_." He shakes his head. "I'm sorry…" He looks at her and is surprised that she looks… serious. "Did I say something to upset you?"  
  
"My Lee, my husband. He had one of those jobs." She smiles weakly. "This was before the War, mind you." Donna has a far-way look on her face. "It was hard to feed the family back then."  
  
"Family?"  
  
"Got two kids. Didn't know that, I guess. Junior and Marjorie." She pulls something from her purse and hands it to Jack. "See? Aren't they darling?"  
  
Jack examines the photograph. It looks like it was taken on the stoop of their home. Donna and someone he assumes is Lee are sitting side by side, each with a child on their lap. The children aren't that old, perhaps seven and five.  
  
"They're somewhere in the countryside now, with all the bombings, you know. I get letters from them. Well sort of, Marj can't really write." She laughs. "Get all these funny drawings from her."  
  
"What about your husband? Is he out there?"  
  
Donna let her face fell just for a moment. "He was. I got the telegram about a year ago, you see. Missing in action."  
  
Jack can see the tears start to form in the corners of her eyes…  
  
"They didn't even tell me where his mission was. I haven't gotten his body. They told us to bury him though since they consider him… We did you know? Held a funeral and everything. Just a private thing. I didn't have Junior or Marj there. I haven't had the heart to tell them. How can you tell a child that they don't have a daddy anymore? That he's not coming home? That his grave is filled with dirt?"  
  
She is fully sobbing now, slightly hiccupping too. Suddenly, Jack knows what he has to do. It isn't just a mission for information anymore. He is beginning to like Donna, to genially care for her as a friend. Tentatively, he swings his legs over the side of his bed, ignoring the sharp pain that runs from his ankle all the way to his pelvis. Feeling the cold floor with his toes, he stands up with all his weight, and throws his arms around Donna.  
  
"I know how you feel." He crushes his eye lids tight attempting not to cry. "I lost my father and my little brother in a bombing." Jack doesn’t know why he is telling her this. He hasn't told anyone this, not even the men he has trusted with his life on the battlefield. But for some reason the words just come out. "The siren was going off like normal. But my family was separated. My father told me to take care of Gray. Go to the closest shelter and stay together." Jack can feel the hot tears penetrating his eyes and sliding down his cheeks. "I dunno how, but I lost him. I lost him on the way to the shelter. I was there safe and sound but he wasn't. After the all clear I searched and searched… I found my father… God, it barely even looked like him anymore. But I knew it was him. I failed… I failed him… them…"  
  
Donna rocks Jack gently as they hold each other for comfort. They are both crying so hard Jack wonders if anyone has complained about the noise yet. But really it's only a passing thought. They both need this now. They have been holding in their pain for far too long.  
  
"Donna? Rory said you were having breakfast in here, is everything al… right?" The Doctor halts in his bouncy step as he takes in the scene before him.  
  
Jack looks up at him, though his vision is a bit blurry from all the crying. The Doctor's face is pale with shock. As quickly as he can, Jack untangles himself from Donna and lies back down on his bed.  
  
"I'm fine, John." Donna wipes her last remaining tears with the sleeve of her shirt. "Jack and I just had a good chat. And a much needed cry." She smiles gently at him. "Don't you have an important appointment with the department heads that starts in five minutes?"  
  
"No," the Doctor replies in an instant. Then he pauses. "Oh, do I? Yes, yes I do. Mustn't miss that. Hope they'll have some jammie dodgers for me…" He winks at her and gives Jack a long, curious look before skipping out of the room.  
  
" _John_?" Jack's voice rises in revelation.   
  
Donna turns to him and laughs. "Oh honey, there's so much I have to tell you."


	4. The Dance of the Goblins

Donna decides to stay with him for the next twenty minutes and gossip while the Doctor, no, _John_ is in his meeting.  
  
"How'd you meet him? Our Doctor?" Jack asks his curiosity fully peaked.  
  
She gives out a hearty laugh. "You'd never believe it. He sort of hijacked my wedding."  
  
Jack almost spits out the water he was drinking which causes his new friend to giggle more.  
  
"See, I told you! Met John on my wedding day. Christmas Day it was, too. I'm walking down the aisle, my grand-dad giving me away. I was wearing one hell of an expensive dress. Nothing you'd see in La Gazette du Bon Ton, mind you but it was beautiful." Donna's eyes were glazed over, remembering her special day. Suddenly she frowns deeply. "Then this madman and a woman with the curliest hair you'd ever seen run into the church and he screams, 'Stop! Stop the wedding!"  
  
"He didn't!" Jack's mouth his wide open.  
  
"Damn right, he did. I marched right up to him and _politely_ asked why the hell should the wedding be stopped. He babbled on and on about the air flow, my perfume, and the candles. Just babbled away like he still does now and made mad gestures with his hands. No one had a clue what he was on about. I think I called him horrible names like Martian-Boy. Though that's more of an endearment now since I know that his favorite author is Jules Verne. Anyway, the woman he's with finally pushes him aside and kindly explained to us that there was a gas leak and wouldn't we be so kind to exit the church before it exploded?"  
  
"What?" He is fully intrigued by her story. "How did this come about? What happened?"  
  
"Well, we evacuated of course. The church _did_ blow up not too long afterward. Lee and I had to get married in a pub down the road instead. But if it wasn't for John, I'd be dead."  
  
"How did he even know about the gas leak?"  
  
Donna smiles, her eyes twinkle. "Yeah, something you don't know about our doctor. He likes adventure. Likes to go mucking about in places he shouldn't be and doesn't belong. That was one of those times."  
  
Jack crinkles his brow. "Say, who was the woman with the Doc?" He knows the answer and is afraid to hear it.  
  
"His wife. River Song. She's a doctor too. Not a medical doctor like John. She studied archeology."  
  
"You don't have much to say about her," he comments. "Doc was the same way when I asked him."  
  
"You asked him about _River_?" Donna tuts and shakes her head. "Bad area of conversation, mister if you want to get in my best mate's trousers."  
  
He opens his eyes wide. How the hell did Donna _know_ that? He had never told her, not so much as hinted how he felt about the Doctor. Had Martha told her? She must have. But Martha wouldn't tell a soul, she wouldn't. He hadn't planned on telling her how he felt about her best friend, not yet anyway. It wasn't—  
  
"Easy, solider boy. I can see your mind running a mile a minute." She gets up from _his_ stool and silently shuts and locks the door, closing the blinds to the tiny window as well. "Sweetheart, first off, I'm a woman and I pick up on these things. Secondly, I'm John's best friend. After all these years I know what's going on inside that massive head of his. Besides, he told me how he fancies you and that you kissed."  
  
Jack's heart leaps to his throat. John _fancies_ him. He's not repulsed. He _fancies_ him!  
  
"I think I better tell you about John… and River. Maybe you'll understand him a little better then." She places her hand on top of his as she begins her story.  
  
"John and River have similar pasts. I suppose that is one reason what drew them together. Both were raised in orphanages, got the best grades in school, were loners up until uni. That's where they met. I think they took an English class together. They found each other appealing, as a challenge; they got on great. He proposed to her on graduation day and they eloped a few days later. They never had a permanent place of resident. They kept moving along, having adventures, like when I met them. But one day that changed and John wanted to settle down. A little blue house in the country, he said. But River didn't. She wanted to keep on with their current lifestyle. So…"  
  
Jack waits and is frustrated when he doesn't finish her story. "So? So what?"  
  
"So, John got a house in the country, a little blue one, got a job here before the War started. And River kept on travelling. I have no idea where she is now. I don't think he does either. And that's it. That's them in a nutshell, Jack."  
  
"She _abandoned_ him?" Jack asks disgusted.  
  
Donna shrugs. "Sort of. I remember when he came over to my place the first time it happened. It was such a rainy day. I remember because he didn't even have an umbrella and he was soaking wet. He told me everything with this huge smile on his face, heartbroken even though he was."  
  
"When he confided in me that he was developing feelings for you he was so scared. Do you know why? Because he knows eventually you will leave him like she did. You'll go back to the War. Maybe meet someone else out there on the field or worse will die out there. If you don't, you could go back home to your wife and not to him. River's _scarred_ him, Jack. And he's frightened because he is still legally married to River, wherever the hell she is. And then there's the consequences of being in a relationships with someone of the same sex and what if your relationship was made public knowledge? You know what he told me, Jack? He said that he didn't give a damn that he'd lose his medical license or if people would try and murder him. He'd be worried because _you'd_ get hurt. That's what kind of a man John Smith is, Jack."  
  
She looks at her wristwatch, looking surprised. "Dear me, I have to go back on my shift. Can't gab to you all day, now can I? Mail has to be sorted and delivered. Phone calls have to be made. Bills have to paid. Unwanted visitors to chuck out. Busy day. Ta!" Donna unlocks the door and rushes out without another glance back at him.  
  
He sits alone in the quiet room and thinks. He and John have both been hurt by a woman, though in different ways. He knows that he wants to protect the Doctor, more so now than before, after learning this new information. It isn't fair that he's gone through a horrible marriage. A man like him only deserved the best of what the world had to offer.  
  
"Donna! Donna, no jammie dodgers! Can you go down to that little market and—" John halts in the middle of the room. "Donna's not here."  
  
"She felt a few minutes ago," Jack says, trying to keep his voice level.  
  
"Ah." The Doctor straightens his tweed jacket and trousers. "Excuse me for my rude interruption, Captain Harkness." He turns away but Jack grabs his coat sleeve.  
  
"John, wait." He pulls the Doctor closer to his hospital bed and leans his head against the small of John's back, wrapping his arms round his waist. "I'm sorry. For what she did. I've been hurt by my wife too, John. I know what it's like to be betrayed. Estelle is pregnant with another man's child."  
  
John turns around to face him, his expression is so mournful.  
  
"I promise." Jack continues, "God, you have my word, that I will never hurt you. Give us a chance, John."  
  
He waits. The air is thick.  
  
John begins to cry silently, so Jack sits up in his bed, kisses the tears away. It surprises him when John cups his face and pulls him into a chaste, salty kiss. When he pulls back he whispers in Jack's ear, "I'm going to hell for this, aren't I?"  
  
Jack whispers hotly in the Doctor's ear, "I'll be right there beside you."


End file.
